Stormy Waters
by Aisalynn
Summary: He could see her exhausted form easily in the moonlight, still dressed in pirates clothing and slumped over the starboard side of the ship, staring unblinkingly at the dark water below. Post DMC drabble.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean and am not receiving any type of profit for what is written below. **

**SPOILERS FOR DEAD MAN'S CHEST. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. **

**A/N: This is simply a ONE SHOT that I wrote up after I saw the movie today. Just a little scenario that was running through my head. I'm not planning on continuing this. I think I'll leave it to the third movie to describe Will and Elizabeth's adventures as they attempt to bring back Captain Jack Sparrow. Or at least to better and more dedicated fanfic writers than me. :) **

It was obvious to Will that Elizabeth hadn't been sleeping. He could see her exhausted form easily in the moonlight, still dressed in pirates clothing and slumped over the starboard side of the ship, staring unblinkingly at the dark water below. It was in the dead of night, one of those rare times that the deck was not swarmed with Captain Jack Sparrow's crew, now taking orders from Barbossa.

It was a very dubious bargain they had with Barbossa: the Black Pearl for Jack's life. Of course, they had to sail to the world's end to get both of them, but Will wasn't sure if the Black Pearl would hold enough worth to Barbosa now that he already had a ship under his command, a ship they had painstakingly commandeered from another port being controlled by the East India Trading Company. Barbossa was a man whose words could very easily persuade others, and all ready the crew that had so determinedly set out to rescue Jack was falling prey to his manipulations. It worried Will, but not as much as Elizabeth did.

He approached her, purposefully thumping his feet on the deck so as to alert her of his presence. She didn't turn around or acknowledge him. He braced his arms on the rail and leaned beside her, but kept a good distance between them, not invading her space or inviting her into his. It was only proper.

After all, she was in love with another man.

He swallowed around the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat and forced himself to look at her. The moonlight bleached all color from her normally warm complexion, bringing to attention the dark circles under her eyes. She worried her lip as she stared into the water and her arms were wrapped tightly around her self. She was trembling.

"Elizabeth," he said softly, "I will do everything in my power to bring him back." Oh, how it hurt to say those words.

She finally looked at him. Her trembling increased and her dark eyes filled with tears. "Will…" she choked out before stumbling towards him. He caught her, wrapped her in his arms, though his mind screamed at him to let her go, to push her away, to protect himself from being hurt again. He ignored it as he softly stroked her hair and muttered soothing sounds in her ear: his Elizabeth needed comfort.

_No, not yours, _his mind whispered to him. _No longer yours. _

He took a deep breath. "I… I promise I will being him back to you."

She pulled away and gazed up at his face in confusion. "To me?"

He smiled sadly at her, fighting off the wave of despair tying to drown him. "Yes, to you. I will try to bring the man you love back to you."

"The man I…" Her brows constricted. "But Will, the man I love is you."

He pulled completely away from her and leaned against the rail again; fixing his eyes on the calm waters of the sea so he would not have to look at her. "You need not pretend any more, Elizabeth. I know. I know how you feel about Jack."

"But Will, I…" she tugged on his arm, trying to pull him back to her. "I'm not pretending anything. I love _y_—"

"Enough, Elizabeth!" he cried, turning around abruptly, eyes blazing even in the darkness. "_I know. _I saw you two on the deck of the Black Pearl right before the Kraken destroyed it. I watched as you two clung to each other, oblivious to everything else."

She scrabbled for his hands but they were clenched tightly on the wood of the ship. "Will, you don't understand!"

He laughed bitterly. "Don't I? Do I not recognize the sight of two lovers kissing desperately, knowing they will never see each other again? Isn't that what happened? Is that not what took place when he told you of his self sacrificing plan to stay behind to distract the Kraken as his dear beloved and crew members escaped? Is it not?"

"_It was a ploy! _It was ploy to distract him so I could chain him to the ship!" Her fists were clenched at her side and her face screwed up in anger as she shouted this, but Will could only stare at her in shock as she began to crumble within herself. "I killed him," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

He felt cold. "Surely you don't mean that. You couldn't have…"

"I did. I kissed him to distract and then chained him to the ship so he couldn't escape." She wrapped her arms around herself and looked away. "I couldn't be more responsible for his death if I had thrown him into the mouth of the Kraken myself."

Will stumbled away from her, his eyes wide with shock. She killed Jack. All this time he had thought she was pining away for her lost love, for a man that wasn't him, when in reality she was the reason he was dead. Somehow, this betrayal was worse. "You killed Jack."

"Will," she sobbed, "it was the only way. The Kraken wasn't after the Black Pearl, it was after Jack. If he had come with us it would have followed and we all would have died." His eyes hardened and he looked away from her. "Please look at me, Will," she whispered.

"No." He felt cold, so cold. _ She murdered him…_ He didn't know what to do. He was torn from the relief he felt knowing that she never loved Jack and the shock and disgust and utter _fury_ he felt towards her for what she had done. So he did what he had never done before: he shut himself off completely from her. "I will take my leave of you now, Miss Swan." He walked away.

"Will, stop, please," she begged.

He didn't.

"I guess Jack was right. What I wanted most was not just to find you, but to save you. And most people would do anything to get what they want most." She muttered quietly, "Even commit murder."

He almost stopped then. But he was too confused, too overwhelmed by the sea of emotions crashing within him to make sense of it all. He needed to get away. He continued on to the stairs that lead below deck, trying to ignore the sound of Elizabeth's sobs mingling with the soft crashing of ocean water.


End file.
